Darlington.
It’s a name that carries a lot of weight in stock car racing circles. In fact, it carries weight in any auto racing circle. The history of NASCAR that has taken place at South Carolina Raceway alone fills books.
This is the first superspeedway built for stock cars, home to NASCAR’s first 500-mile race. This track was hosting events ten years before Daytona International Speedway was built. This venue helped NASCAR take a big early step in moving stock car racing from its beginnings on the dirt tracks of the Southeast and carrying the sport through its fifty-year journey into a national spotlight.
By the end of the 20th century, highway construction projects across the country were developing at a healthy pace. The new major league auto racing tracks were planning to open their doors in new areas of the national market. Las Vegas, Fort Worth, Chicago and Kansas City were some of the new three-oval designs that were introduced. The Atlanta Speedway turned its true oval shape into another dog-legged front end. The new Miami oval also went through some redesign projects.
All the tracks had a lot of glass, polish and shiny chrome. It shows that a sanctioning body could entertain current and potential sponsors. Auto racing as a sport needs these venues like Major League Baseball needs Coors Field and AT&T Park.
However, just as baseball also needs Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, NASCAR needs Darlington Raceway. In today’s era, it reminds its visitors of where the sport came from, how it has grown, and hopefully not forgetting the past.
Darlington.
The just-completed Mother’s Day weekend events saw an effort by track management to adopt a “throw-back” look and feel to the event. Instead of the neat and tidy white retaining walls, there were alternating red and white sections of days gone by. Winston cigarettes used to be a major sponsor of NASCAR on many levels. From the Cup division to grassroots local tracks, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company was a major marketing partner. Almost all of the race tracks under the NASCAR umbrella had the same paint scheme around their racing surfaces.
That Darlington track went back to an earlier logo, an easily recognizable one from the 1970s or early 1980s. Styles and culture evolve in this country. They always have and always will. Letter and font designs have changed in all forms of advertising. Look at any product, from the label on a motor oil to the appearance of a soda can. Sometimes you can guess the year of sale by looking at a product image.
Last weekend, the signage at Darlington Raceway made the long-awaited entry list include Benny Parsons and Neil Bonnett. And that’s a good thing.
And calling this event The Southern 500 brought a smile to anyone with a sense of history. Media people never tired of referring to the name in their broadcasts and written stories. The Southern 500 name flows nice and easily and when it was spoken there was a slight lift around the corners of his lips.
Darlington.
There aren’t many venues on the Sprint Cup circuit that can attract the biggest names in the sport to come visit. Saturday afternoon featured a press conference from David Pearson and Cale Yarborough. I firmly believe that because this was Darlington, both legends were eager to attend.
Could the same be said for a random D-shaped oval built somewhere convenient for a major market? No disrespect to the other tracks on the circuit, but it’s an honest question.
Richard Petty spent some time over the weekend in Indianapolis with his new company in the IRL ranks for the 500 later this month. John Andretti drove the IndyCar under the Petty name for the first two days of qualifying. Petty’s first and perhaps only attempt at submitting an entry for The Greatest Spectacle in Racing is important to him. But he was back at Darlington before he waved the green flag for the Southern 500.
Sam Ard and his family visited the famous South Carolina oval before the start of last Saturday’s race. The two-time Busch Series champion and multiple-time NASCAR Late Model Sportsman winner met with Kevin and Delana Harvick, and Kyle Busch in the late afternoon. Health and financial issues have challenged Ard and both Harvick and Busch have thrown themselves into helping the former NASCAR driver.
Busch and the Harvicks showed great respect and appreciation for the older generation star and all that he and his family have contributed to the sport over the years. Today’s top racers thanked Ard for all he has done and genuinely understood that the success the sport enjoys now is due in part to the entrants who came before.
The Ard family also visited the drivers’ meeting and were also greeted by numerous NASCAR names. Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte, Mike Helton and Dick Berggren were just a few who came out to greet the family and recognize their contributions to stock car racing.
It’s a fitting track that served as the backdrop for this gathering of superstars and legends of the sport who helped make NASCAR the success it is today. The Raceway also played its part in that ascent.
Darlington.
Daytona, Indianapolis, LeMans, Monaco all have their place in motorsports history. Together, through different forms of racing, they have filled chapters in the history books of motorsports. Stock cars, open wheels, ovals, road racing, dirt and tarmac have all created their own stories and attractions for racing fans. Each particular location sports its own attitude and personality.
The Darlington Raceway is included in that same level of importance. It is a difficult place to drive. Only the best have survived the often grueling events here and come out on top. The track has taught many drivers to rethink their definition of confidence and has taught some more the true meaning of patience.
It is an older track that has seen updates to make it viable in current times. But not too many to take away from the character that wowed observers in 1950. “The Lady in Black” creates new stories and reminds us of old ones every time a race is run here. It’s nice to see where the races are coming from and where they are going, all at the same time.
